About Tina

Dr. Tina Payne Bryson is the author of Bottom Line for Baby (Random House 2020) and co-author (with Dan Siegel) of THE POWER OF SHOWING UP (Random House, 2020) and THE YES BRAIN (Random House, 2018), as well as two New York Times bestsellers -- THE WHOLE-BRAIN CHILD (Random House 2011), and NO-DRAMA DISCIPLINE (Random House 2014) -- each of which has been translated into over thirty languages.

Tina is a psychotherapist and the Founder/Executive Director of The Center for Connection, a multidisciplinary clinical practice, and of The Play Strong Institute, a center devoted to the study, research, and practice of play therapy through a neurodevelopment lens.

Dr. Bryson keynotes conferences and conducts workshops for kids, parents, educators, and clinicians all over the world, and she has written for numerous publications, for example mom.me, SkillForKids and the PBS series “This Emotional Life.” She has also co-hosted a web-based parenting show and makes frequent media appearances at venues like TIME, “Good Morning America,” Huffington Post,Redbook, The New York Times, and Real Simple. She is the Child Development Specialist at Saint Mark’s School in Altadena, the Director of Parenting Education at the Mindsight Institute, the Director for Child Development for Camp Chippewa in Cass Lake, Minnesota, and the Child Development Director for Lantern Camps. Tina earned her LCSW and Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, where her research explored attachment science, childrearing theory, and the emerging field of interpersonal neurobiology.

Tina presenting on, “The Yes Brain”. (Photo courtesy of The DoSeum)

Tina and Dan Siegel teaching The Whole-Brain Child.

Tina delivers her keynote presentation to a packed audience. (Photo by Kristina Bowman.)

Tina emphasizes that before she’s a parenting educator, or a researcher, she’s a mom. She limits her clinical practice and speaking engagements so that she can spend time with her family. Alongside her husband of 21 years, parenting her three boys is what makes her happiest:

“They’re my heart. Their personalities make life so much fun. They’ve also made my research very personal, helping bring together the different roles I play in my life, where I’m part-time educator/researcher, and full-time Little-League-mom/super-Jedi-spy-with-laser-powers. As I’ve studied attachment and childrearing theory and the science of how brains work, I’ve been able to apply that knowledge and let it help me parent more the way I want: lovingly, intentionally, and effectively.”

Read “The Brainiac Mom” to see what happened when Arroyo Magazine visited Dr. Bryson’s home in the middle of a chaotic after-school afternoon.

Tina’s professional life now focuses on taking research and theory from various fields of science, and offering it in a way that’s clear, realistic, humorous, and immediately helpful. As she puts it, “For parents, clinicians, and teachers, learning about how kids’ (and their own) brains work is surprisingly practical, informing how they approach discipline, how they help kids deal with everyday struggles, and ultimately how they connect with the children they care about.”

“Dr. Tina Bryson is an inspiring speaker who brings humor, compassion and scientific knowledge to her workshops for parents and teachers. She is an engaging presenter using personal anecdotes to effectively illustrate the everyday conundrums of parenting and teaching. Dr. Bryson has a unique ability to relate her expertise in childrearing theory into practical strategies for the classroom and home.”- Jane E. Rosenberg, Director, Pacific Oaks Children’s School

Tina devotes a limited number of hours per week to meeting with parents and children for psychotherapy and consultations. The best way to reach her is to contact her via the link below.